A student rushed toward the front desk in the Killam Memorial Library one afternoon last week with panic in her eyes. Her laptop and smartphone were missing, she said. Could someone help her track them down?
Amanda Sparks, the library’s manager for access services and resources, happened to be walking by and offered to accompany the student back to where she’d been sitting.
With winter exam season just getting underway, the library was filled to peak capacity with students everywhere. Sparks walked through the space with the woman, asking others nearby if they’d seen the missing laptop or phone. Eventually, they returned to the student’s seat empty-handed.
Just before heading back downstairs, Sparks asked the student to check her own bag again. Bingo.
“She was in such a heightened state due to exams that she hadn’t realized,” says Sparks. “We helped calm her down and locate her devices.”
A campus at capacity
While Dal’s libraries — particularly the Killam, its largest — have many busy periods throughout the year, few rival the rush of activity seen during exams and the end-of-term rush. Exam season brings with it compressed schedules and institutional timelines that intensify the demands on such shared spaces.
The Killam offers extended hours during exam period. (File photo)
This winter exam cycle, more than 600 scheduled exams are being held over 12 days across Halifax and Truro in about 60 physical locations from Dalplex, Sexton Gym, and Langille Gym to dozens of classrooms across both campuses. Some individual Halifax exam sittings involved close to 1,200 students in one venue.
“In practical terms, the winter exam period is a major university-wide operation,” says Amaan Kazmi, assistant registrar, registration and academic scheduling.
Front-line support
Back in the library, study rooms, tables, and computer labs burst with students, placing increased demands on library staff, who step in to assist students during some of the high-stakes moments in their academic journey.
“There’s always an urgent or pressing need for something,” explains Nancy Melvin, reserves coordinator with the Killam. Sometimes it's hunting down a book or reading, other times helping them print, scan and format documents. They even loan out pens and pencils from time to time.
There’s always an urgent or pressing need for something.
Use of printers, computers and other equipment skyrockets at this time of year, meaning many library staff must step in to help troubleshoot when issues arise.
Sparks, who has worked at Dal for more than 35 years (many of those at the Sexton Library downtown), says library staff are there to help whatever the case may be.
“We’re here to support them, and we’re doing the best we can with what we have," she says. "We’ve never wavered from providing that consistent service."
When the shush-line lights up
With more students in the Killam, there’s also a noticeable uptick in text messages filtering in to the "shush line" — the library’s dedicated message service for noise complaints.
The university's "shush line," managed via smartphone, becomes far busier during exam season.
Sparks says while most of the complaints they receive are straightforward, others reveal deeper challenges. One recent message took her to the fourth floor where a group of nearly a dozen students were occupying a small room, laughing and conversing loudly. The students agreed to quiet down, but one of them felt compelled to use the moment to confess that he was thinking of quitting school. Sparks informed him there were people he could talk to about managing his pressures and provided him with information.
“His friends suggested they go get some lunch, which helped de-escalate things,” says Sparks. “We saw him later that day again and he was okay. Moments like that matter.”
Extended hours add another layer of demands on library staff during these two to three weeks each December and April. At the Killam, staff chip in to help cover an extra hour on weekdays and three additional hours on weekends.
All this on top of the usual list of duties.
“Exam season is intense, but it’s also satisfying knowing we help students get through a critical time,” says Sparks.